Filling jobs for heavy equipment operators is the focus of Ontario spending over $1 million on two projects that will provide free training in construction to 645 people in northern Ontario, prioritizing those from remote First Nations and Indigenous communities.
These projects will prepare workers for jobs in the construction sector, including heavy equipment operators and electrical trades, addressing a skilled trades shortage in the local workforce.
“We’re seeing strong job growth across the province, and the north is no exception," said Monte McNaughton, Minister of Labour, Training and Skills Development. There are thousands of well-paying and rewarding jobs in the resource sector just waiting to be filled by people with the right skills.”
Skills training organization NORCAT gets $582,000 to train 20 workers to operate machinery to build roads, move minerals and harvest forests. Trainees will receive free in-class and hands-on training over a period of five-to-six weeks at NORCAT’s forest and mining operations in Thunder Bay, with free lodging and transportation to and from their training site.
The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local Union 1687 will receive $467,500 to develop a virtual training centre to teach 625 electrical workers across remote northern and First Nations communities. Funding will support the purchase of audiovisual equipment and development of an online curriculum so that workers can receive safety and equipment training in careers including powerline technicians, network cabling specialists, electrical apprentices and journeypersons. Classes will be live-streamed and videotaped for workers without high-speed internet.
The average hourly wage for an industrial electrician in Ontario was $35.47 in 2020. The average hourly wage for a heavy equipment operator (excluding crane operators) was $31.35.
In the first quarter of 2021, there were 13,380 job vacancies in the construction sector in Ontario, up from 11,075 in the first quarter of 2020.
The unemployment rate for northern Ontario was 7.3 per cent in the second quarter of 2021 compared to 10.3 per cent in the same period in 2020.
